Say it isn't so. Grocery stores are already a non-stop barrage of ads and signage trying to convince you to buy things, but soon that will even include those simple plastic dividers we use to separate our groceries on the checkout conveyor belts. Is nothing sacred?

A company called Motion Display will be the ones responsible for this brave new world of advertising, taking advantage of low-power e-ink displays that will allow the dividers to play a 30-second animated ad. Motion sensors trigger playback so the ad is only displayed after a customer has picked it up, which also facilitates a battery life of at least a few months.

Advertisement

There's no word on when you'll start seeing these checkout dividers introduced at your grocery store, so until they arrive make sure you appreciate those simple plastic sticks before they get annoying. [Motion Display via Gizmag]